Sheet-drying apparatus.



W. l. TUITLE.

SHEET DRYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION mio ocr. 24. |914.

Patented Sept. 19, 1916.

il i

6 SHEETS-SHEET I.

W. TUTTLE. SHEET DRYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 24 1914.

1,198,878. 11111111111 sept. 19, 1916.

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zum/yy om Z 71am W. I. TUTTLE.

SHEET DRYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATmN FILED oc. 24. 1914,

l 1 98,878. Patented Sept. 19, 1916.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Suva/1to1,

MOM 5 w. I. TUULE.

rSHEIEI DRYING APIARATUS. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 24l I9I4.

1,198,878. y lzlII-ntvdSvpI. 19, 1916.

6 SHEETSWSHEET 4.

WS TUTTLE.

SHEET DRYING APPARATUS.

APPLlcmoN mm ocr. 24. 19H.

1,198,878. Patented sept. 19,1916.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

W. l. TUTTLE` SHEET DRYING APPARATUS.

APPucArloN FILED ocr. 24. |914.

1 ,1 98,878. lutolltwlept. 19, 1916.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

mrow/Mgg UNTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WASHINGTON I. TUT'ILE, 0F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO TINDECORATING COMPANY OF BALTIMORE, OF BALTIMORE, DARYLAND, A CORPORATIONOF NEW JERSEY.

SHEET-DRYING APPARATUS.

, Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 19, 1916.

Application led October 2li, 1914. Serial No. 868,351.

To all 'l/i m11 it 'may fonc-ern.:

lic it known that l, l\'.\sii1xo'ro.\' I; Tirr- 'ri.n, a citizen of the.United States. residing at Baltimore. in the State of hf'laryland, haveinvented new and useful Improve- 'inents in Sheet-During Apparatus. ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain novel and useful improvements indrying apparatus, and while the invention involves iinprovements indrying apparatus iu general, l have described the invention in thefollowing specification as applied to the manufacture of print-ed tinsor sheets of metal used largely in the. manufact-ure of metalliccontainers. The sheets or blankst from which such metal containers aremade are frequently printed in several colors. The application of eachcolor necessitates a separate printing operation, and after eachprinting the tins or sheets must. be dried or baked in order to renderthe printing ell'ective and to cause the color to adhere. In thepractical manufacture ot' these. printed blanks` they are handled ingre-at quantities and the rel ndling necessary to reprint and re-dry thesheets greatly increases the labor involved.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide apparatuswhich will greatly facilitate the handling and drying and reliandlingand re-drying of such articles in large quantities.

A further object of the invention is to provide an arrangement wherebythe attendants of the apparatus are not exposed to a high temperature,and t\ arrange the apparatus in .such a way that the loadingr andunloadingr oi" the articles passingr into and out of the drier can bereadil" :recoinplished.

further objectof th" invention is to provide an arrangement whereby the.articles being dried will be inethodieall) heated.

.\ further object of the invention is to provide apparatus ineludinr.r adrying clianibei or oren. and havin;r means imrticularly adapted for pa.ing and rcpassing articles through the drying chamber or oven in large'quantities. and to provide. an arrangement which reononiizes space inthe building used for the purpose.

Further objects of ,the invention will appear more fully hereinafter.

The invention consists in the general combination of parts and featureshereinafter' described, all of which contribute to produce an efficientdrying apparatus.

A preferred embodiment of my invention will be particularly described inthe following specification, while the broad scope of my invention willbe pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawi-ngs.:'1 `igure 1 is a diagrammatic plan partly in 'sectionand partly broken away showing a dry house with the preferredarrangement of drying apparatus therein. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectionpartly broken away,gfurther illustrating the preferred arrangement ofthe apparatus. Fig. 3 is an elevation upon an enlarged scale partly insectionand partly broken away,v

and further illustrating the means for dri v ing and guiding the endlessconveyers which' are a feature of the invention. Fig. 4 is an elevationillustrating the arrangement for bringing the articles to be dried, suchas the tins, from auxiliary apparatus, such as printing presses, so asto enable the articles to be passed o r repassed through the dryingchamber. partial section illustrating a belt tighten'er in detail. whichfoi-n... .1. part of the apparatus shown in Fig. 4. Fig. G is a sectionpartially broken away and further illustrating the arrangement-forguiding and dry- Fig. 5 is a side elevation and ing the apparatus shownin Fig. 4. Fig. 7

is a plan of one 0f the racks which constitutes a feature of theinvention and upon which the articles a're loaded in passing the saineinto the drying chai'inber. Fig. 'o' is a front elevation of one of ther'aclts, only a' Referring more particularly to the parts, l representsthe working floor of a dry house, havingv a roof 9.; the drying chamber3 is preferably in the forni of a shaft or oven the walls of whichextend down from the roof i2, the lower end 4- of the dryingA chamberbeing preferably openand disposed atan elevated point above the workinglloor l. This lower end 1l.- is most conveniently placed just above thebeams 5 which afford means for the attachnie'nt of hangers t3 forsupporting a working plat-form which is located between the workiirgrfloor 1 and the opening 4i.

The drying chamber is preferably placed in a cent-ral hay, the rootl 2whereof may have skylights 2"" and ventilators il" iii the sides of'anysnit-able type such as the transom Aventilators indicated. Above theroof 2 the side walls of the drying (-,haniber are preferably providedwith .side ventilators 2 wliich'inay be of any desired type preferablyarranged tb be opened and closed fr in below by any means such as cords2d.

I` provide for passingr thel articles to be dried iip into the interiorof the dryingr chamber, and I provide for the loading and unloading ofthe articles to be dried from the working floor l1 and platform 7. Ialso prefer to provide an arrangement for enabling the. articles to bepassed and ive-passed up into lthe drying chamber. For this purpose, Iprefer to provide a plurality of con- Veyers A, B, C, Dfarrilngcd end toend along one of the side walls 8 of the dryingr chamber", and oppositeto these conveyors, I prefer to provide a similar set of eonveyers A'`B'. C', D. These coiiveyers are preferably of the endless conveyor type.rIhey are -similar in construction so that a description of a pair ofthem will sullice for all.

Referring now. particularly to Figs. 1 and 3, each conveyor preferablycomprises a pair of endless* chains 5l the upper ends of which passaround oppositely disposed pairs of sprocket wheels 1t); the sprocketwheels 10 of the conveyor A. are disposed opposite to the sprocketwheels 10 of the conveyor A. @The lower ends of the chains 9 pass aroundguidefwheels or sprocket wheels 11, the shafts of which are n'ionntedii: suitable liearing blocks 12, and these bearing blocks are securedbetween twosuitable vertical guides preferably eonsistiingr of twoparallel bars 13.

Between the chains 9 of each iii\'e \'er7 I prefer to provide. aplurality of; racks or oars 14., the preferred eonstrurtion of which isillustrati-d in Figs. 7 to tl. These rarlv's preferably7 compris barks`1.. l'ornieil ot'a Substantially rertangiilar traine presenting verticalbars` lt) arranged in pairs. and in termediate vertii-al liars li. 'l`heioni-r lnds of the bars lt' and 1T are attached to :i bottom rail 1S.

(ln one side of the bach i 15., I provide a i'ilurality oflholders 19for the articles which are to be" dried. and these holders arepreferably arranged-in transverse horizontal rows and are preferably iiithe form of skeleton brackets or shelves formed of bars bent into.substantially U-liorni.l (See. Fig. 7). The rear ends of the sides 15)of these frames or holders l) pass through ol'ienings inl` lh'e forwardflange 2t) of the bars 1t" whiell are of channel forni, and beyond theflangifes these. ends are oil-set. and anchored or ii-iveted in the baekllangi'e 21 of the bar 1G.

Near the middle points of the holders or frames 10 I prefer to provi'tlebraces which are attached to the vfaesof the internitaliate vert-icalbars 17. gAs viewed in .side elevation, as shown in Fig. 9, the holdersAlil all incline upward lslightly toward their outer ends.

At. the upper end-of eaeh raek and near the ends thereof, I prefer toprovide outwardly 'projeetingarins 23, and on the un der sides of thesearii'is I provide brackets '24 which support a spindleor rod 25 whichextends longitudinally over the rack at about the middle point of theholders or shelves 19. In order to'braee this bar and the bracket, Iprefer to provide inclined tie bars 2t atI each end of the rack, thelower ends of which are .anchored in the bottoni rail 1S and the upperends of which-pass through the arms 23 and lare threaded so as toreceive elainpingnr nuts 27 which 'clamp the tie rods to the. end ofthe-arms. y

.\t points intermediate ofthe Shelves or holders 19, I prefer to providea plurality of vertical guard bars28 which prevent the articles, when-onthe holders, from slipping laterally. These bars are preferably held inposition by suitable brackets 99.

The ends of the suspending bar have gndgeons or pintles 30 which arepivotally supported on opposite links 31 of the chains SL (see Fig. I).The racks are attached a snllirient distanceapart to enable them toswiner cle-ir of each other when the conveyor is in motion. The gudgeons3() are disposed forward of the frame or-Vbaekof each rack .se as to benearly over the' center of' grav it" of the loaded rack, a'j-.l thisarrange nient prevents undue forward tilting of the rai-.k after being,rloaded.

1 'l`he eonrevers are preferably driven intermittently in the directionindirated by the arrows in Fig. 3. In order to arroin plish this, eachsprocket wheel 10 is i-ieid with r. gear wheel 32.-; said gear wheelbein.;r

driven by a pinion 53 rigid with a worin are driven by `gears 37 fromlongitudinal .shafts 3S disposedon each side of the .pr-.1.- ingfhaniber.

' heaters.

' adjacent to the backs of the racks on the opposite conveyer. In otherwords, the racks are'back to back. This arrangement economizes space by'enabling the conveyers to. be

placed closely together, and furthermore, it v coperates to bring aboutthe methodic heating referred to above. In order to effect this methodicheating, I- prefer to provide heating devices40 preferably in the lformof heatingl coils which may be steam coils or similajr heatingapparatus* or electrical heating Vvice,`if desired. Ihese heatingdevices 40 are preferably placed between the two runs of each conveyer.On account of this arrangement, it 'will be seen that as, the racksascend, 'thebacks are toward the heatingdevices and the articles areexposed toward the 'outer side or Wall of the drying chambers. As theracks descend, near the middle plane of .the drying chamber, the holderson the racks project toward the In `this Way, Ethe articles being driedare gradually heated as they enter and ascend into. the drying chamber,and they are made to pass between the sets of'l heating devices justbefore they 'make their exit from the drying-chamber, and this ofcourse,

y will be' the hottest point along their route of travel. As Athecarspass tb'eV working door 1, they are preferably unloaded and the articlesplaced upon truckss'uch as indicated by the numeral' 41, said trucksbeing mounted upon tracks 42 which extend longitudinally ofthe drier. soas t'orun past the presses a, I), c and d, on one side of the dry house,and similar presses a', b', c and d on the other side. These presses aredis- -posedA preferably equidistant and are provided with any suitablearrangement for printing the colors on .thetin sheets. The tins orsheets, after being printed, are preferably loadedupon the rackssuspended from the conveyers, by an attendant standingon the platform.`

I provide means for delivering the printed sheets or tins -to theattendants on the platform `7, for which purpose I prefer to provideeach press, such as the press a in F 4, with a conveyer attachment 43.which may comprise a conveyer chain 44 having `cquidistant dogs 45 whichengage the Sheets or tins 46 and advance them upwardly on a track orincline 47' so as to deposit them on a continuously moving substantiallyliorizontai conveyer belt 4S", There are a plurality of these belts 48corresponding to the different conveyers A, B', C, etc. The corrv veyers43 as well as the conveyei` belts', 4S may be driven from a moving shaft49` of their eta-responding parts. From this shaft 41?, a. chain 50 ispreferably arranged to drive a gear wheel 51, said gear wheel being inmesh with a gear wheel 52 carried on an arm 53 radially disposed andadapted to be secured in any position desired by a clamp 54. The gearwheel 52 is rigid with a sprocket wheel 55 under which thechain' passes,so that the-arm 53 and this sprocket wheel 55 opera-tes as achait1'tightener. The

sprocket wheel 55 drives the chairi-44. As*

each horizontal conveyer48 is driven from its corresponding press, whencertain color presses are shut down. their corresponding conveyers alsostop.

The arm 53 is preferably clamped'to a bashingv 56 which is rigid intheir frameI 57, (see Fig. 6,) and which forms-a" bea-rinor for theshaft 58 which .carries the., gear heel 51, and this shaft 58 lsocarrisasprpcket wheel :'19 over which runs val chainGO, to-

drive the conveyersl 48 throughthe medium of beveled gears 61, `it beingunderstoodthat the belt 48 passes around rollers, theshafts 62 of whichare driven directlyv from the bevel gears'l in some such mannerasindicated 'n `Fig. 4.

The printed sheets or tins issue -from the press rolls a2 and 'a3 andpass across a guideA plate a* onto rollers@5 which-startthe sheets.

in succession up the incline 47 andbring them into a position such thattheir .rear edges will be engaged by the dogs 45.

In order to guide the racks. and hold them. against swingingxvhile theyare beingv loaded, I prefer to provide guide arms 14u which may projectout fromA the vertical guides 13 and these arms are vpreferably providedyvith rollers 14" which engage the channels 14,0n the endsl of the racks14.

The printing presses a,'b, c and d, and a b', c', and d are preferablydisposed near the side walls 63 of the dry house.l

The aforesaidshafts 38 which drive all the conveyers are preferably-both driven from a suitable motor 64, Fig. l, the driving pinion65 ofwhich drives= a 'gear Wheel 6G on the shaft 6'?, said shaftbeingarranged to drive oppositely .disposed .sprocket'chains 68the outerends of which pass around sprocket .wheels-69 Vo'n the shafts 38.

The general mode of operation of the .dryingr app'zu'atus-will now beset forth. l The sheets to be dried are loaded individually onto theshelves of the racks 14 by opera tors or attendants,l standing on theelevated platforms the conveyrs being driven at a slow rate of speed andintermittently; as the racks reachthe lower limit of their descent, theylie near the Working floor 1, at. which point theV operators 0r attendants remove the dried sheets and place the saine on trucks such as thetruck 41.

in g for safety. in vvoperation.

moving and carry the sheets longitudinally of the 'holders or shelves ofthe racks. TheI attendants on. the platforms 7 canvconveniently handle agreat number of sheets inthis way, lifting theri'i' from the eonveyers48 to the 'racks'. i

Attention'is alled to the fact that the mecha'nism. for .driving theeonveyers is p'referablyiemoved,from the point at which theoperatorss`tai'1d,v which is a feature mak- On account'of-the fact Athatthe lower end of the drying ehaniberor' oven is elevatedabove the`floor,'a'fi d. on account of the further fact 'that there are no doorsat this point, the oven tends to maintain a 'constant temperaturel andinsures thatthe heating will be carried on methodically.

The arrangement set forth for loading 'and unloading theshets,atdiiferent levels,

by reason of the working'lioor, and the elevated platform, greatlyfacilitates the hantiously, and attention iscalled to the fact that vtheoperators are all below the drying chamber which prevents their beingdirectly exposed to the hot'air which tends to rise in the dryingchamber. The apparatus described above utilizes space whichfisprincipally overhead space, and which in some aspects, is to be regardedas-waste space! In "operating thefapparatus the ovens are of sufiicientheight and the speed of the conveyers is such that-all theoutputofprinted tiiisfrornv the presses can be .accommodated through eachcycle of printing and redrying.

The side walls .of the Voven shaft 3 are preferably fof heat resistingmaterial Ysuch as asbestos. rect outlet from the shaft-to the outer airand insure a slight'up'waid Vmovement of the air in the oven shaft whichis highly desirable because it insures that the air, where the men areworking, will remain'comparatively cool. The skylights 2 throw lightdirectly onto the platforms 7. The v entila! tors 2 enable the hot airadjacent the shaft 3 and 'under the roof to escape and this assistsinkeeping down the temperature inthe room or compartment.

Although I have described the upper end of the drying. chamber-asextending above the roof, it-need not so extend.

`Although I have described the ,apparatus as of a duplexvconstruction*involving the useof opposed pairs of conveyers, of course.if desired, the eonveyers need not be used in opposed pairs but canconsist of a single, instead of a duplex. conveyor. Y

It-is understood that the embodiment of the invention described above isonly one The ventilators 2 afford adiof the many forms or embodimentsthe in- Vvention may take, and I do not wish to be limited-in thepractice of my invention nor in my claims to the particular embodimentset forth.`

,. wardlyfrom a point near the floor, an ele.

v ated drying oven surrounding said endless described i eonveyer, aplurality of racks carried by' said conveyer,*an elevated platform,aiiil to carry the so' bring them to loading-and unloading posimeans fordriving the conveyer racks successively through the oven and tionsrelative tov the platformand the floor.

2. An apparatus of the class desc ribed,` i comprising a compartmenthaving aweikf ing door, an endless conveyer. eatendinjgfup-A wardly froma point near said floor,.ancleV rated drying oven. surrounding saidcon-- veyer, a platform between the floor. and the lower end of saidoven, a plurality of racks carried by the conveyer, and inea-ns fordrivfing the conveyer to carry the racks successively through the oven andbring `them tof loading and unloading the floor and the platform.

3. An apparat-us of vtheclass d escril'ied i comprising a compartmenthaving a working floor, an endless conveyor' positions relativel tdextending .upf l rated d'iyiii'goven 'through which tlieend lessconveyor travels,

-ai i. elevated platform f located between-the floor andthe lower eiidVof the o veii, a com' c yer. for transferring., sheets from a `pointadjacent to the 'floor to' f the platform, anlfm'eans'abovcthe platformI and vbelow the bottom of the oven for eonallel with the platform.

veyiii'g sheets in a plane substantially; par! 4.. A drying apparatuscoii'iprisiiig a rooiii oi' compartment having a -workiii'g loor and auoven shaft 1n the upper part of the room or coii'ipaitiuent, said shaftbeing open at its lower end, an endless conveyor movable vertically inthe o ven shaft, af'plurality of racks suspended from the endlesscoijireyei,

each rac-lg provided with .sheetsupportiiig shelves, and meansfij'r-irioving the endless coii\'e "cr toi-ausi: the racks to travelthrough the oven shaft and to be brought successively oven.

6. A drying apparatus comprlsing a room i or compartment havingiaworking floor, a

drying oven in the upper part of said room or compartment, the lower endotlsaid oven being spaced apart from said working floor, an endlessconveyer movable upwa'dly in said oven, racks carried by said convliyer,an elevated platform and means for ldriving the conveyer to carry theracks successively through the oven and bring them to the loading orunloading positions relative to said floor or said platform.

7. A sheet drying apparatus comprising a room or compartment having aworking door, a drying oven in the upper part of said room or comartment, said oven being spaced apart rom said working floor, an endlessconveyer having two endless chains within said drying chamber, sprocketwheels within said drying chamber over which said endless chains pass,means for driving said sprocket wheels to actuate said conveyer, aplurality of racks carried by said conveyer adapted to move insuccession past a loading point between the door and the lower end ofsaid oven, and a heater Within said oven disposed betweenthe runs ofsaidchains.

8. A sheet drying apparatus comprising a room or compartment havingaworking vfloor, a drying oven in the upper part of said room orcompartment, said oven having its lower end at a point above and spacedapart from said working floor, an endless conveyer mounted in saiddrying oven and having one of its runs disposed. toward one side of thedrying oven, a second endless conveyer in s'aid oven opposite saidendless conveyer and having one of its runs disposed toward theYopposite side of said oven, a plurality of.

racks attached to said endless conveyer, said conveyers extending belowthe lower end of said oven so as to carry the racks successively pastloading and unloading points between said floor and the lower end ofsaid oven.

9. A sheet drying apparatus comprising a room or compartment having aworking door, a drying oven in the upper part of said room orcompartment, said oven having its lower end at a point above saidworking floor, an endless conveyer mounted in said drying oven andhaving one of its runs disposed -toward one side of the drying chamber,a second endless convey er in said drying oven opposite said endlessconveyer and having one of its runs disposed toward the opposite side ofsaid oven, a plurality of racks attached to said endless conveyer, saidconveyers extending 'below the lower end of said oven so as to carry thei'acks successively past -loading and unloading `points between saidHoor and the lower end said oven, and heating devices disposedrespectively between the runs of said conveyers for heating the interiorof said oven. 10. A sheet drying apparatus comprising a room orcompartment having a working floor, a drying oven in the upper part ofsaid room or compartment, said oven terminating at a point above thesaid working floor, and endless conveyers within said oven, a pluralityof racks carried thereby, said cars having backs and a plurality ofholders for the said sheets projecting from said backs on one sidethereof, means for actuating and guidin said conveyers so that saidracks ascend into said drying oven from a point below the lower endalong the outer side of the said oven, and descend ad.- jacent themiddle plane of the said oven, the backs of the racks of oppositelydisposed conveyers being disposed adjacent as they descend.

11. A sheet drying apparatus comprising a room or compartment having'aworking floor, a drying oven in the upper part of said room orcompartment, said oven terminating at a point above the said workingfloor, a plurality of endless conveyers within said oven, a plurality ofracks carried thereby, said racks having backs and a pluirality ofholders for the said sheets pro- "jecting from said backs on one sidethereof, means for actuating and guiding said con'- veyers so that saidracks ascend into said drying oven from a point below the lower endthereof along the outer side of the said oven and descend adjacent themiddle lane of the said oven, the backs of the rac oppositely disposedconveyers being disposed adjacent as they descend, and heaters on eachside of the middle plane of said drying chamber, said holders beingarranged to project toward the said heaters as they move past the same.

12. A sheet drying apparatus comprising a room or compartment having aworking floor, a drying oven in the upper part of said room orcompartment, the side walls of said oven terminating at a point abovethe said working floor, an endless conveyer movable vertically upwardlyin said oven, racks carried by said conveyer, and means for driving theconveyer to carry the racks successively through the oven and bring themto loading and unloading positions below and outside the said oven.

13. A sheet drying apparatus comprising a poom or compartment having aworking fioor, a drying oven in the u per art of said room orcompartment, t e sald oven being open at its lower end and the sidewalls of said oven terminating at a point above and spaced apart fromthe said working floor, an endless conveyer movable vertically upwardlyin said oven, racks carried by said conveyer, and means for driving theconveyer to carry the racks successively through the oven and bring themto loading and unloading positions belo-w the lopen end of the oven.

14. A dryingA apparatus comprising` a. room or compartment having aworking floor, a drying oven in'said compartment havin its lower. endterminating aboveand space apart from said floor, a plurality of racksfor carrying the articles to bedried, means -for advancing and guidingVsaid racks upwardlyA into the interior of said oven and downwardly belowthe lower end thereof to enable the racks to be loaded and unloadedbetween the lower end of the oven and said working floor, and means forheating the air on the interior of .said oven;

said oven'having communication with the outer air near the upper endthereof whereby a slight upward movement of air isideveloped in saidoven to maintain a relatively cool temperature' near the loading and unloading positions between the floor and the 15. A drying apparatus'comprising' a room or compartment having a working floor, a drying ovenin said compartment having `its lower end terminating above said floor,a plurality of racks for carrying the articles to be dried, means foradvancing and guiding said racks upwardly into the interior of said'oven and downwardly below the lower 'end thereof to enable the racks tobe. loaded and unloaded between the lower end of the oven and saidworking floor, anv elevated platform between Said working door and thelower end of said oven, means for heating thev air on the interior ofsaid oven, said oven having commu- -nication with the outer air near theupper end thereof whereby a slight upward move` ment of air. isdeveloped in'said oven to maintain a relatively cool temperature neartlicrloading and unloading. positions between the floor and the oven,and a roof for'the rooml or compartment having a skylight substantiallvover said platform.

1G. A drying apparatus comprising a 'roonner compartment having aworking lioor, a drying oven in said compartment having its lower endterminating above said tloor, a plurality of racks for Carrying thearticles to'be. dried, means for advancing and guiding said racksupwardly into the interior of said oven and downwardly be low the lowerend thereof to enable the racks lo lie loadeitand unloaded between' thelower end ol the oven and .said working floor, means for heating thc airin the iuterior of said ov'f'n, .said oven having cominiinieation withine outer air near the npper end thereof \\'hereli y a slight upwardinoveniiiit ol' air is developed in :said oien to maintain a relativelycool temperature near'the loadingr and unloading posit-ions support,arack for carrying sheets to be dried carried by said support, said rackcomprising a frame having a. plurality of substantially U-shaped bentbars projecting outwardly therefrom and forming shelves for supportingthe sheets to be dried.

18. In va drying apparatus, a rack for carrying sheets to be driedcomprising a frame having a plurality of substantially U-shaped bentbars projecting outwardly therefrom and formin shelves for supportingthe sheets to be dried, and substantially vertical guard bars disposedbetween said shelves for preventing displacement of the sheetstherefrom.

19. In a drying apparatus, a. rack for carrying a plurality of' sheetsconsisting of a frame having -a plurality of substantially parallelshelves projecting therefrom ar-..

ranged in transverse rows, and a pair of opposite gudgeons near theupper part of said frame and from which said frame may be supported,said gu'dgeons` being disposed forward of said frame and over saidshelves` to prevent unduev tilting of the frames when loaded.l

20. In a drying apparatus, a rack for carrying sheets to be driedcomprising a l frame having a plurality of shelves project# ingoutwardly therefrom for. supporting the sheetstc be dried, bracketsprojecting forwardly from said frame over said shelves, andinclined tiebars attached to said brackets and extending downwardly and attached tothe lower endof said frame.

21. In a. drying apparatus, a rack for carrying sheets to be dried icomprising a frame having a plurality of shelves projecting outwardlytherefrom for supporting the floor and spaced apart therefrom, aconveyer loeatcd partially within the oven and eX- tending partiallybelow such oven, an ele rated platform located adjacent the portion ofthe eonveyer.extending below the oven,

and article. supporting racks carried by the4 22B. An apparatus of theclass described comprising an elevated bottomless oven, a. verticallydisposed conveyor -loCated pai`- tially within the oven and extendingdownward below the oven, article Carrying racks for the conveyer, and anelevated platform located adjacent the portion of the conveyer the oven.

projecting below of the 24. An apparatus comprising an elevated oven, anelevated le oven. and a.

platform located beneath tl class described my hand.

WASHINGTON I. TUTTLE.

